


Brittany's Theme (Best That You Can Do)

by AmazonWorrier



Series: Loving You is Just an Old Habit [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, no gay deaths here, plenty of pain to be had keeping these characters alive instead, school shooting, with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:01:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29753079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazonWorrier/pseuds/AmazonWorrier
Summary: When Brittany sends Santana away to New York, she's 100% certain that it's the right thing to do. A few unanswered texts and a school shooting later, Brittany realises it's possible for 'right' and 'stupid' to coexist.Companion piece/continuation of 'I Left My Heart In Lima'
Relationships: Brittany S. Pierce & Quinn Fabray, Brittany S. Pierce/Sam Evans, Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce
Series: Loving You is Just an Old Habit [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095188
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Brittany's Theme (Best That You Can Do)

It’s too late to fix what she has with Santana.

For a while, Brittany had been so sure it was over between them for good. Santana broke up with her and it hurt, but then she found Sam and the pain started to go away a little bit. Sam is a kind person. He does good impressions and he loves her.

Sam makes her forget.

Brittany had been _so_ sure it was over until NYU called and offered her an interview.

NYU, in New York.

New York, where Santana has been living with Rachel and Kurt, trying her luck at the whole ‘life’ thing.

If Brittany gets into NYU then getting to be near Santana suddenly becomes a very real possibility again.

She's not so sure anymore.

It’s still too late to fix it though.

Right?

* * *

Brittany was going to graduate.

Brittany S. Pierce was going to graduate her second senior year and, to top it all off, she had her pick of prestigious colleges across the country. Thanks to her SAT scores, everyone wanted her. That was exactly the problem, though. In all her wildest dreams, Brittany never thought any of those places would want her, so it’d never occurred to her to think about what her preferences might be.

Where exactly was she meant to go?

Luckily, it didn’t matter. She’d noticed an asteroid heading for Earth this morning, so they’d all be dead soon anyway.

_6:51am_

_BrittBritt: Tubbs joined the KKKK :(_

Given that they hadn’t spoken in weeks, Brittany wasn’t sure why she’d chosen that particular message as her opener to Santana. But they'd been growing apart lately, and Brittany didn't care for it. If anything was going to get her best friend to finally respond with more than a two word answer, it’d be that. Santana was very passionate about civil rights.

It didn’t hurt to have a plan B though.

_7:03am_

_BrittBritt: Also_

_BrittBritt: There’s an asteroid heading for Earth soon_

_BrittBritt: Have you still got that disaster kit I sent you for the Mayan Apocalypse?_

Outside, a car horn honked, signalling that Sam was waiting to drive them both to get breakfast before school started. He’d been helping out a lot in the auto-shop lately, so Burt had lent him Kurt’s car since he no longer had much use for it. Brittany liked getting a lift to school again. She could turn the music up really loud and dance to it without having to worry about paying attention to the other cars on the road or where she was going. Sam would just laugh at her and occasionally sing along, and it was the best because it reminded her of-

She liked it. 

“Good mooooorning Vietnam,” Sam roared as she jumped into the passenger seat. Brittany giggled, accepting a light kiss on the cheek before clipping her seatbelt in. Safety first. 

Sam rambled on about something to do with the math homework, but Brittany found herself tuning out without meaning to. Santana hadn’t responded yet, and it worried her because she always used to wake up early and go running. Not that it had been long enough to worry, but there was something about _not_ knowing what Santana was doing all the time that Brittany hadn't quite gotten used to yet. It was unsettling.

_7:15am_

_BrittBritt: Let me know if you don’t and I’ll send a new one._

_BrittBritt: Better safe than sorry x_

“Who are you texting?” Sam’s focus was on the road. He hummed softly to the music playing on the radio.

Brittany shrugged, pocketing her phone, “Just Lord Tubbington.”

Sam flicked a sideways glance in her direction. He sounded suspicious, “Thought you guys were fighting?”

While a part of Brittany knew she should feel guilty for lying to Sam about texting Santana, she didn’t... Sam pretended he was okay with Brittany still being best friends with her best friend, mostly because he probably realised it’d be a bit uncool if he started acting jealous, but Brittany could tell he actually wasn’t okay with it at all. She and Santana hadn't been texting that much lately anyway, but there were only so many times Brittany could reassure Sam before she got tired of doing it. It was just easier not to bring it up. For both of them.

“We are.”

_7:17am_

_Santana: Still got it :)_

The day passed by without Brittany paying much attention to any of it. She’d tried to be considerate and warn everyone about the asteroid that’d result in their imminent demise but no one wanted to listen to her. Oh, and she’d told Santana about NYU and asked for her opinion about whether she should go there. She just hadn’t heard back yet.

“Well how long has it been?” Becky asked. 

They were sitting in the astronomy room. Brittany had just given Becky an awesome pep talk about the future, except it turned out she was a hypocrite because she had no idea what she wanted to do with her own future, and also they were all going to die soon. Becky, being _Becky,_ had wasted absolutely no time before pointing both of those facts out. They’d been hashing out the ins and outs of Brittany’s dilemma for about half an hour.

“Only two minutes,” Brittany admitted, “But still, she should’ve seen it by now.”

Becky tilted her head back in contemplation, “Maybe she’s busy making out with her new girlfriend.”

Brittany laughed, shaking her head. She could never really tell if Becky was trying to hurt or help when she made comments like that, but either way she was barking up the wrong tree this time.

“Santana doesn’t have a new girlfriend.”

“That you know of,” Becky shrugged, folding her arms.

Brittany opened her mouth to correct her friend, because if Santana had a new girlfriend she’d _know_ about it. Break up or not, they were the kinds of best friends who told each other everything, and there’s no way if the situation was reversed that Brittany wouldn’t immediately tell-

Oh crap.

Santana totally had a new girlfriend.

_11:44am_

_Santana: I thought the world was ending?_

Over her shoulder, Becky read the message and tutted. “Santana's right.” She pushed off the desk, skulking out of the room, “You can’t go to New York if we’re all dead. There won’t be any planes left.”

Brittany deflated somewhat, watching Becky leave. Her finger hovered over the keypad on her phone for a while, before she reluctantly tapped out a response and moved on to her next class. She probably should’ve been in it for the last half hour anyway.

_11:45am_

_BrittBritt: Yeah true :(_

As it turned out, the world _wasn’t_ ending. Great, right? 

Brittany made sure to go around telling everyone, including Santana, so that people didn’t have to keep panicking about it all. Naturally, that also meant the prospect of NYU was very much back on the table. She was still hoping to hear what Santana might have to say about that. 

And a little terrified, if she was being totally honest.

It wasn’t that Brittany expected anything to happen between them if she were to move to New York. She was with Sam now, and she was happy with him. Santana seemed happy on her own in New York too, so it’d all worked out for the best. It was just that, you know, on the off chance Brittany _did_ get into NYU then that whole distance thing that they’d broken up over would be a non-issue right? So if something happened between her and Sam, and she and Santana were in the same place and they both happened to be single then... 

Romantic relationship or not, Brittany missed her best friend and the thought of living in the same city as her again was a huge drawcard, so-

Were those gunshots?

Brittany stopped dead in the bathroom at the noise, which was followed by screaming and the sound of running in the outside hallway. Within seconds, the air was filled with two more devastatingly loud bangs.

_Those_ were gunshots.

Racing inside one of the cubicles, Brittany locked the door behind her. It was as if her entire body had surged into overdrive. Her hands were shaking, her breathing heavy. Brittany's mind and body battled against each other; the instinctive urge to run conflicting with the grim reality of having nowhere to go.

She was trapped.

_2:15pm_

_BrittBritt: Someone’s here_

_BrittBritt: At school_

_BrittBritt: I think I heard gunshots_

_BrittBritt: Santana help what do I do?_

Brittany should’ve texted Sam. Or Tina, or Artie, or anyone _actually_ nearby who could come and help. She just hadn’t thought of it at the time. She hadn’t been thinking at all beyond knowing that, when the first shot was fired, Santana Lopez was the last person she’d texted and the first person on her mind.

_2:16pm_

_Santana: Where are you??_

_2:16pm_

_BrittBritt: Bathroom stall_

_BrittBritt: I locked it_

_2:16pm_

_Santana: Get up on the toilet seat_

_Santana: Hide your legs_

At that, Brittany laughed wetly. She was already up there. It was obviously the first thing she’d done after locking the door, but there was something so very Santana about the way she jumped to protect her, even from afar. It was oddly comforting.

_2:16pm_

_Sam: Where are you??_

_Sam: Are you safe???_

Another gunshot went off, closer this time. Brittany’s hands shook as she held the phone.

_2:17pm_

_BrittBritt: Okay I’m up_

_BrittBritt: I’m so scared_

_BrittBritt: What if they come in?_

A sixth gunshot, loud and crystal clear, echoed with such intensity Brittany’s ears were ringing. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She wasn’t even supposed to _be here_ this year. If this was the universe's sucky way of punishing her for ignoring her teachers and never handing in her homework, then Brittany wanted to make it known to whoever might be listening that she would've gotten the message just as quickly if they'd taken her phone away for a week, or something. It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve this. It wasn't _fair._

_2:18pm_

_Santana: Just stay quiet._

_Santana: It’ll be okay, I promise._

Brittany released a sob, clamping a hand over her mouth when she heard footsteps rapidly approaching outside. The bathroom door swung open, and it occurred to Brittany that she might be about to make Santana break another promise, because she was going to die today, and nothing about that was okay. 

As the footsteps grew closer, Brittany thought of everything and nothing all at once.

She thought of Santana, and Quinn, and the countless hours they’d spent in this very bathroom touching up their makeup and talking about boys none of them actually cared about.

She thought of the day they met, when Santana pushed another girl off the top of the pyramid to make room for Brittany and they agreed to become best friends.

She thought of the day Santana left for Louisville and promised nothing would change, right before it did.

She thought of the day Santana came back to Lima. Brittany sent her away because she refused to be the person who held Santana Lopez back from her dreams. Not even for love. It was a decision she'd never regretted, not once.

Until today.

Because today, Brittany thought of Santana standing in New York somewhere, knowing her best friend was in danger but powerless to stop it, and felt colossally stupid for ever agreeing to let Santana Lopez more than ten feet away from her at any given moment. 

A shadow passed by the crack under the stall door, and Brittany held her breath. 

Now, more than ever, she thought of Santana. 

_2:19pm_

_Santana: Is your phone on silent?_

It wasn’t.

_2:19pm_

_BrittBritt: …_

_2:20pm_

_BrittBritt: …_

_2:21pm_

_BrittBritt: …_

_2:22pm_

_BrittBritt: …_

_2:23pm_

_BrittBritt: …_

“Okay kid. Showtime.”

The world was foggy, but having been forced to endure four years of Cheerios practice, it was hardly the first time Brittany had found herself lying on the floor on the verge of consciousness around Sue Sylvester.  She’d recognise that voice anywhere.

A firm hand was pressing into her abdomen. Brittany had started to feel a little bit cold, but the hand was warm and it made her feel warmer too after a while. Sue was saying words that were too fluffy to hear, but either way it was kind of comforting to know they were being said. Brittany reached for her phone to finish typing her message, but her fingers felt all tingly. Another hand stopped hers, drawing it back to sit with the rest of her body.

“Forget about Fish Lips for now,” Sue was clearer, she sounded closer now, “Let’s focus on keeping some of this blood in you.”

Brittany winced as something sharp touched her stomach, “Not Sam.” She gasped when the sharp object cut deeper, “Santana.”

“Oh that’s right,” Sue hummed, continuing on with whatever she was doing that hurt so much, “Almost forgot you and Sandbags had that little thing for a while. Time flies.”

“It’s not little,” Brittany shrieked when the pain finally got too much. Sue covered her mouth with her other hand.

“Nearly there,” Sue spoke softly this time, “Just hold on for me, okay Brittany?”

Brittany whimpered, biting down on her lip and ignoring the way the sky had turned a cloudy shade of grey. What was the sky even doing in the bathroom?

“It’s not little,” she repeated, lips trembling, “I never told her.”

A piece of material grazed Brittany’s midsection, and the skin felt tighter as Sue wrapped it around her. She winced at the contact.

“I never told her,” Brittany sobbed, “I should’ve told her.”

“Never told her what?” Sue asked, almost impatient, “Spit it out. We haven’t got all day.”

Brittany cried quietly. She had so much to say but no energy to say any of it. Every word spoken felt like a word too many, and it made her head spin when she thought about all that she needed to get out. If this was it, then she needed Sue to know. She needed Sue to tell Santana if she wasn’t going to get the chance to do it herself.

Her thoughts flashed briefly to her parents, but Brittany took some comfort in the fact that no matter what, they'd know how much she loved them. Sam would too.

But Santana thought they were broken up. She thought Brittany had moved on.

She didn't _know._

Brittany's breath caught in her throat, air getting harder to swallow as the lights dimmed. It was strange because Brittany didn’t think the bathroom lights even had dimmers. She swallowed, trying to find the words before the lights went out completely, because she got the sense she wouldn’t be allowed to say anything after that. But it was getting dark really fast and Brittany didn’t know how to get the message through before they ran out of time. 

It wasn’t meant to be over between her and Santana yet.  Their lives were always supposed to come back together later on. Brittany didn't know when but she always assumed they would. You were allowed to hit pause on the inevitable, because you can just come back to it later. That's why it was never an official break up; Santana said so herself.  None of it was meant to be this way.  They were supposed to just be on _pause._

Brittany was going to die today and Santana would never know how much she still loved her.

The words hurt her throat, and Brittany's not sure what they sounded like when they finally made it out. The last thing she recalled was Sue’s baffled response, which filled her with no confidence whatsoever.

“Well that makes zero sense.”

Then, Brittany’s world was engulfed by darkness and there was nothing left to say. 

Whether she liked it or not.

* * *

It’s too late to fix it.

It’s too _late._


End file.
